King under the Dirt Pile
by wild-springflower
Summary: Looking back on the scenario, Fili wasn't even sure how it had begun. Earlier that afternoon he and Kili had been playing with their little wooden soldiers in the comfort of their sitting room. Then, through an insane course of events, Fili had found himself buried to his knees in dirt, honest to goodness dirt.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright here we are, another young Fili/Kili fic. Again, I suck at ages so I really don't know how old they're supposed to be. Kili's at the age where he still gets large words wrong, and Fili's outgrowing wooden soldier toys. Also, I'm fairly certain Fili never actually lived in Erabor, but it's been years since I've read The Hobbit so I could be entirely wrong. Whatever, for the purposes of this story, he was super young and doesn't really remember living there, but he did. That should about it, I hope you enjoy!**

"Gwar! We have you surrounded Dwarf scum!" Fili shouted playfully, making large over-exaggerated motions with one of their orc toys.

"Great and powerful dwarves such as ourselves cannot be defeated by the likes of you!" Kili replied with his own sweeping gestures.

Kili always insisted on being the dwarves when they played, not wishing to stoop so low as to play an orc. Fili didn't really mind though, he was almost too old to be playing with the wooden toys in the first place. He only went along with it because his mother would yell at him if he didn't; not that Fili didn't enjoy spending time with his little brother. Sometimes though he wished Kili were a little older so they could partake in activities Fili was also interested in.

A deep resounding knock from their front door broke Fili from his reverie and he moved to stand out of habit, it wasn't as if Kili was ever going to answer the door. "Don't even think about taking out any of my warg ranks Kili, I know exactly where they are set up." Fili called over his shoulder, barely managing to stifle his laughter as he heard a sharp gasp from the other room and caught a brief flash of tan skin out of the corner of his eye.

Fili shook his head softly, a smile set firmly in place as he pulled the door open. His smile only broadened as he saw who their unexpected visitor was. "Balin! Good afternoon!"

Balin also smiled and bowed his head slightly. "That it is. I apologize for the intrusion, but could I bother you to speak with your uncle?"

"Of course, come on in!" Fili stepped to the side and allowed Balin to enter before closing the door and shouting down the hallway, "Uncle Thorin, Balin is here to speak with you!" And with one final smile towards their unexpected guest, Fili dashed off to rejoin his brother.

"Fili," Thorin's stern voice flirted from down the hall, "what have I told you about shouting in the house?"

"Sorry Uncle." Fili bowed his head, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment at being reprimanded in front of company.

"Yet he shouts whenever he wants." Kili whispered, and was infinitely lucky that Thorin and Balin had just said their hello's so his comment went unnoticed.

"Kili!" Fili hissed, swatting his brother's arm none too gently.

"Hey!" Kili pouted, bottom lip jutting out as he rubbed the reddening mark on his skin. "You know it to be true. Just the other day when Uncle burned his hand on the kettle he shouted lots of words mummy told us never to use."

"Kili, do you wish to be grounded? Shush before Uncle hears you!"

Kili simply shrugged, picking up one of his dwarf soldiers. "He and Balin moved to the kitchen; he's not even paying us any attention."

Fili's eyebrows knitted together as he glanced over his shoulder and saw that his Uncle and Balin had indeed vacated the hall, in favor of a more comfortable venue no doubt. Still, it never ceased to amaze him how observant his brother really was, especially because the child never appeared to by paying much attention to anything at all.

"What do you suppose they're talking about anyway?" Kili asked offhandedly.

Fili opened his mouth to reply when a realization struck him upside the head. "I've no idea."

"Not even a hunch?"

Fili shook his head, long blonde hair bouncing. "None. But we could find out."

The mischievous glint that Kili knew as a promise of adventure had overtaken Fili's sky-blue eyes and the younger dwarf leaned forward eagerly. "How?"

"Eavesdropping." Fili stated matter-of-factly.

"What is eab-eavbs-"

"Eavesdropping. It's where you listen in on another person's conversation."

Kili's eyebrows darted downward as he regarded his brother with a quizzical glare. "But mummy told us that listening in is rude."

"It hardly counts as listening in if the conversation is in the very next room. It's not as if we can help overhearing."

Kili's entire face brightened with a large toothy grin. "Well in that case, let's over-eab-drop on Uncle!"

Fili cringed at his brother's volume but when no reprimand was forthcoming he knew they were safe. "Alright, we simply have to move our battle closer to the kitchen doorway."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Encouraged by how easy eavesdropping sounded, Kili gathered all his toys and half of Fili's into his arms and brought them closer to the kitchen in one trip.

Without even waiting for his brother's go-ahead, Kili plopped into his new-found seat on the floor and began to set up their armies once more; his was winning of course.

Not wanting to waste precious time, Fili gathered up the rest of his orc army and started putting them in their correct place, keeping half an ear open for any noise to be heard from the kitchen.

It became apparent rather quickly that the two elder dwarves were in fact aware of the young, prying ears in the household and took great care to speak in hushed tones. Fili's whole body sagged with dismay when he realized their efforts had been for naught.

Kili didn't even seem to care; it appeared as if he had forgotten their mission entirely and was instead enthralled completely in his battle. He had been forced to play both sides as Fili had refused to even touch the toys after setting them up, but he didn't appear to mind.

The conversation had been growing steadily more heated and Fili was straining his ears to hear even a snippet of what the adults were talking about.

He had caught bits and pieces but nothing really made much sense. Balin had said something about "unrest and impatience" to which Thorin had hissed a reply along the lines of "they must know their place".

Then suddenly, "I am King under the Mountain!" Thorin's voice thundered through the tiny house. Even if the brothers hadn't been hiding just one room away, they surely would've still been able to hear.

Kili's hands fell to the floor, the battle that had been taking place mere seconds prior forgotten entirely. He stood, head cocked to the side, dark hair falling over his should, and before Fili could move to stop him, he had stood and shuffled his way into the kitchen.

"But Uncle Thorin," the young dwarf began, face knitted with confusion. "You don't _have_ a mountain."

If Fili hadn't followed his troublesome brother into the now-crowded kitchen, he would have smacked his palm against his forehead. As it was he utilized a great deal of self-restraint and kept his body rigid, his face blank.

Balin and Thorin ceased talking, both turning to glance down at the young dwarf standing at their feet. A brief flash of something sad and broken wove through Thorin's green eyes before he quietly excused himself and headed towards his bedroom door.

Kili's wide eyes darted between Thorin's retreating form, Balin's slightly amused yet sad expression, and Fili's cringing face. In all his young innocence he didn't understand what he had done wrong, only that he had, in fact, acted in error. "Was is something I said?"

Balin simply shook his head softly, grabbing a filled kettle and placing it over the recently stoked fire. "Don't let it worry you laddie." He stated, smiling fondly at Kili's still confused face, but that was the only explanation the elder dwarf offered on the subject.

Kili turned to his brother, brown eyes alight with curiosity.

Fili gestured towards the sitting room with a quick jerk of his head, not waiting for any sign his brother was actually going to follow him before he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

He took a seat next to the unused fireplace, kicking his and Kili's toys out of the way to make room for his little brother to sit. When Kili stood shuffling his feet in the doorway, Fili patted the vacated area softly. Kili hastily dashed from his place by the doorway, sitting down cross-legged and looking up at Fili expectantly.

"So?" He pushed when Fili took a moment too long to collect his thoughts.

"Alright." Fili sighed, ignoring the burning annoyance he felt at his brother's impatience. "You were too young to remember what living under King Thror's rule was like. I barely remember anything myself, most of what I know mother has told me. It was amazing Kili." Fili smiled. "Erabor, the Kingdom under the Mountain. There is none other that could ever hope to be its equal. People came from lands near and far to buy their gems, jewels, toys. Everyone was always so happy and the walls themselves seemed to sparkle with joy."

Kili's face lightened as his overactive imagination painted a picture of Erabor that most surely was nowhere near as beautiful as the real thing. "That sounds amazing!"

Fili nodded but a shadow fell over his smile quickly. "It was. But it didn't last Kili. You are familiar with the dragon Smaug, yes?"

"Yes." Kili nodded in reply.

"One day, out of nowhere, the dragon attacked. So many people died that day Kili, dwarves _and_ men. Smaug _stole_ the mountain from Uncle Thorin, and he's not going to get it back. Not until that monster's carcass is rotting. So do you understand now?"

Kili nodded slowly, obviously engrossed in a very deep thought. "Uncle Thorin deserves a mountain."

"Yes he does."

Kili's head snapped up and his sparkling eyes met his brother's. "I'm going to give him one!" He declared excitedly, before standing and racing out the back door.

With a fond sigh Fili stood and headed to his and Kili's shared bedroom. He settled into bed comfortably, deciding to forgo tearing after his brother in favor of reading, it wasn't often that Fili got a moment to himself, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Fili sat in a pleasant silence for the better part of two hours, all thoughts of Thorin's conversation and Kili's determination forgotten.

Suddenly the back door flew open with a tremendous crash and Fili could hear Kili's excited voice calling for Uncle Thorin to "come quick, come quick!"

Curious as to what all the commotion was about Fili placed his book gently on the nightstand and padded down the hallway.

"Kili what in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin called from the sitting room. At some point while Fili had been reading, Thorin had emerged from his own bedroom to continue his conversation with Balin. The chairs in the sitting room were significantly more comfortable than those at the kitchen table, and since the sitting room had been vacated of curious children, the two dwarves must have decided to sit there and discuss whatever had caused Balin to visit in the first place.

Uncle and nephew reached the kitchen at almost the exact same moment and both their jaws dropped to the floor as they took in the state of their youngest relative.

Kili stood beaming in the doorway, his white teeth and eyes the only clean portion of his body. Everything else, from the tip of his head to the soles of his boots, was covered in a thick layer of dirt. As the young dwarf jumped excitedly, sheens of soil fell from his clothes and covered the floor beneath his feet.

"Kili cease moving before you make an even greater mess." Thorin reprimanded at the same time Fili questioned, "What on earth were _doing_ out there?"

Kili's grin only widened, his body vibrating with anticipation. "Come see!" And without awaiting a reply, Kili turned and raced back outside.

Fili and Thorin glanced at one another, equal looks of bemusement upon both their faces, before they followed Kili's dirtied footprints outside. Balin was the last to leave the house, taking care to close the door as he did lest they get moths.

The backyard was a wreck, but judging by Kili's dirtied body Fili didn't know what else he should've been expecting. A gigantic hole had been dug right next to the tree line; it almost resembled the animal traps Thorin had taught Fili to make, expect it was far deeper and not nearly as wide. Still, it wasn't the pit that caught all three dwarfs' attention, but the mound of dirt piled almost as high as their one story house sitting directly in the middle of the lawn.

"Kili what-" Fili began, his voice tapering off when he couldn't think of a way to voice all the questions bouncing around inside his head.

"It's for Uncle Thorin." Kili stated proudly, as if that simple statement explained everything. The young dwarf stretched and took hold of his Uncle's hand, urging a bewildered Thorin closer to the mound. "See? It's a throne for you."

And indeed, upon closer inspection, Fili could see the obvious outline of a chair, carved right out of the dirt.

"For me?" Thorin questioned, hesitating before cautiously sitting in the dirt chair.

"Yes!" Kili replied with an excited grin, "And here's a crown for you!" From seemingly nowhere, Kili produced a wilting crown made from long weeds and flowers found in their yard.

Thorin hunched over so Kili could place the crown on his head before gazing at his nephew in confusion. "Kili, what is all this for?"

Kili's smile fell, and he became very interested in the grass he was currently kicking with his dirtied boot. "Well, I opfended you earlier. And Fili told me about how you lost your mountain, so I decided to make you one."

"You made me a mountain?" Thorin questioned, shooting a glare Balin's direction as he saw his old friend grinning widely.

"Mmhmm. Do you like it?" The childish anticipation with which Kili asked that simple question had Thorin chuckling to himself.

"Of course, this is beautiful Kili. Yet I still do not quite understand why you made this mountain."

Kili's face brightened considerably as he replied proudly, "Well now that you have a mountain, you can be King under the Mountain."

"King under the Mountain?" A barking laugh escaped Fili's lips before he could stop it. "More like King under the Dirt Pile!"

Kili's eyes narrowed into dark slits as he glared at his brother. He bent slowly and gripped a fist full of dirt in his small hand. "I'd like to see you do better." He called before whipping the dirt at his brother.

Fili dodged the assault easily, "Is that a challenge brother?"

"Hardly _brother_ , you stand no chance of winning!"

"Oh we shall see about that!"

Kili released a loud squeal as Fili charged, gripping him around the middle and bodily throwing him into the side of his dirt mound.

Thorin stood and hastily made his retreat, narrowly missing getting doused by flying dirt. He halted a safe distance away, standing next to Balin with a smile in his eyes.

The hair on the back of his neck stood and Thorin's attention turned from his nephews wrestling in the dirt to his friend staring at him. Balin's amused expression drifted to Thorin's head and the flower crown he had yet to remove.

"You will mention this to no one." Thorin deadpanned, all amusement disappearing from his face.

"Oh I didn't see a thing." Balin stated, but couldn't contain the chuckle that escaped past his long beard.

Thorin had no doubt that at least Dwalin, possibly a few others, would be hearing a rendition of this tale later that evening.

As his gaze drifted back out to his nephews wrestling in the remnants of Thorin's dirt throne, the King couldn't bring himself to care. For that small moment in time, things were perfect.

Yes, Dis would be furious when she returned home from market to find her house a mess, her backyard completely destroyed, and her boys so covered in dirt she wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

But boys would be boys, and _dwarf_ boys, well, there was no such thing as a peaceful moment with two dwarf boys. Especially one's as troublesome as his nephews.

 **A/N: Hey guys, so there you have it. So, I honestly have no idea how long it would take to make a dirt pile that huge but I'm guessing it's longer than two hours. But, whatever. I hope you enjoyed this, but even if you didn't, let me know what you think! I could always use some constructive criticism! Thanks.**

 **~Spring**


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